scarlet heart | exo

Entering the Palace

Time flew, and before Xuefeng knew it, it was the day where she was to enter the Palace.

She was an atheist in the 21st Century, choosing to believe solely in her own willpower and strength rather than the interference of some divine being. But she was honestly starting to believe in God now, because her wish for a miracle had been answered, and they came in the form of Yixing.

As it turns out, he too was not thrilled with the idea that his young sister-in-laws could become concubines to his father. So, he called in favours in the Palace to have Xuefeng and Huixin's names removed from consideration as concubines.

None of the princes were deemed an appropriate match either (Yixing probably had a role to play in that too), so all they had to worry about was the next two years spent as servants to the Imperial Household. It was no glamorous job, but Xuefeng would choose that over the glamorous concubine life any day.

Xuefeng approached the huge red doors of the Forbidden City with Huixin. Both of them were dressed in standard servants garb. Their headpieces were slightly longer than before, marking their transition into adulthood, but protocol forbade them from wearing anything more than a two silk flowers.

Tests awaited them on the other side of the doors. Depending on how well they performed, they would be assigned to different parts of the Palace to fulfil different roles. The cream of the crop got to serve the Emperor's concubines, the Empress or even the Emperor himself, doing mostly light chores. The less competent ones did harder labour in embroidery, cooking, cleaning and laundry.

"Wherever we are assigned to, I hope we stay together..." whispered Huixin, as they stepped through the gates to a fate unknown.

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After a gruelling day of successive tests in everything from culinary skills to reading Confucian passages, Xuefeng and Huixin gathered with the other ladies to receive the news of their postings.

"Guoluoluo Huixin will be serving in the Emperor's tea section," announced the eunuch.

Huixin squealed in excitement. To be assigned to serve the Emperor meant that she was exceptionally worthy. Furthermore, the tea section was a very personal part of the Emperor's life, and it only accepted the very best.

Many names and postings buzzed by, before the eunuch called, "Maertai Xuefeng."

Xuefeng tensed, craning her neck instinctively. Huixin grabbed her hands tightly, for what might be the last time, as they waited in anticipation.

"Maertai Xuefeng will be serving in the Emperor's tea section."

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"Oh my goodness! I can't believe we're together!" exclaimed Huixin.

"This is like, the fifteenth time you've said that already," pointed Xuefeng, though she could not hide the wide smile and the joy in her voice.

"I can't help it. How crazy is that? Of all the possible places we could be separated to, we landed together, and in one of the most prestigious sections as well!" Huixin cried as they moved their belongings to their quarters.

Being servants of the Emperor, their quarters were located beside the Emperor's buildings including his throne room, his study and his bedchamber. They shared three to a room, unlike other maids who roomed five to a room. They walked with the other girl who got chosen, making small talk and getting to know each other.

"What is your name?" asked Huixin.

"I'm Xiu Zhiyu," she replied softly.

Zhiyu was a little shy, intimidated by the grandeur of the Palace. Despite proving her worth with exceptional skills in the tests, securing her entry into the Emperor's tea division, she felt out-of-place as she was of lower birth than Xuefeng and Huixin. They were Manchurian Chinese, like the Imperial Family, and she was Han Chinese, like the peasants. They probably knew everything there was to know about serving in the Palace, whilst she knew close to nothing. It did not help that they were close friends already, making Zhiyu feel a little left out.

"Zhiyu, it's nice to meet you! I'm Guoluoluo Huixin, and this is Maertai Xuefeng. We are both fourteen years old. Since we'll be living together and serving the Emperor together, I'm sure we'll all be great friends in time!" chirped Huixin.

Zhiyu's eyes softened and lifted a little. Huixin seemed alright, and maybe this whole stint would turn out better than she expected. Maybe they could all be friends. "I'm fourteen too. I guess... Yeah. Friends."

The conversation steered to family backgrounds, and Zhiyu was revealed to hail from a middle-class family. She had entered hoping to become a favoured concubine and bring honour to her family, but failed to make the cut. She was a little disappointed, but serving in the Emperor's tea section was the next best thing.

The girls arrived at their room and were glad to find that it was spacious. There were three beds placed side by side and three full height closets. A shared dressing table was tucked into a corner and a round table with a simple tea set stood in the middle.

Simple, clean and comfy.

Zhiyu took the bed at the side so that Huixin and Xuefeng could sleep beside each other. Huixin was comfortable taking the centre and being sandwiched by Xuefeng and Zhiyu.

"Wait, what's this?" Xuefeng picked up a sheet of paper she noticed on the table. "Be at the tea preparation room at 4pm... From the Head Tea Lady-- oh no guys, it's like past 4pm already what are we doing here let's go!"

The trio dashed out of the room and managed to find the tea preparation room, only to be greeted by a furious Head Tea Lady. She was about two years older than the girls, and one would have mistaken her for just another servant girl if not for the much more elaborate dressing and her no-nonsense demeanour.

She folded her arms and tutted at them.

"From now on, I expect punctuality."

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Of course, the newly arrived girls were not allowed to serve the Emperor yet.

There was much work to be done before they could have that privilege. They needed to perfect the art of tea-making: the types of tea leaves and their health effects, how to discern the best tea leaves from the merely good, boiling water to the perfect temperature, controlling the amount of tea leaves in each cup...

"The Emperor's favourite tea is Longjing tea," lectured the Head Tea Lady. "This is the tea you will be making most often. When preparing this tea the water cannot be boiling hot, else the sweet aroma of the leaves will be gone. Make sure you leave the water to cool to eight-tenths of its original boiling temperature. You should infuse the tea in a clay cup, then pour it into the porcelain ones; clay cups give a richer aroma than porcelain."

"After the Emperor has his meals, serve Pu'er tea to reduce the greasiness from the food. The water must be between eight-tenths and nine-tenths of the original boiling temperature, in order to bring out the most fragrance."

"No matter what tea you make, always pour away the first infusion-- it is too bland-- and serve the second. And if you can't remember anything I've said so far, just know that whatever tea you make, a thumbnail size of tea leaves is enough for one cup..."

The Head Tea Lady rambled on about tea leaves, water temperatures and what kind of teapot to use as Xuefeng struggled to write them down.

Then they tried their hand at the actual tea making, which resulted in broken porcelain, spilled water, scattered tea leaves and a huge mess waiting to be cleaned at the end of the day.

Xuefeng scowled as she scrubbed teapots.

It was going to be a long two years.

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Their first night in the Palace, three innocent fourteen-year-olds slept side-by-side, not knowing that they would soon be right in the eye of a thunderstorm.

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